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Zoids: Fuzors
This article relates to the Zoids: Fuzors anime series. For the corresponding model release, see Zoids: Fuzors (Models). For the description of a Fuzor Zoid in general, see Fuzor Zoid'' Zoids Fuzors (ゾイド フューザース) is an anime series, linked to the Zoids toyline of the same name. It is the third Zoids series, following Zoids: New Century in order of production. The series was first aired in the United States, where it was cancelled at episode 13. The full 26 episodes were broadcast in other countries. The series was edited prior to its Japanese broadcast. Fuzors is notable for the Zoid's CG animation being done by Tokyo Kids, rather than Xebec, which produced the earlier series. Series background Zoids: Fuzors takes place on Planet Zi and is primarily set in the large metropolitan centre of Blue City, where battles occur in a large man-made arena. The technology level in the series is akin to that of current-day real-world cities. Some settings outside of Blue series are seen on an episodic basis, however none have a significant impact on the plot, or are explored in significant detail. Fuzors introduces the namesake "Fuzor Zoids". Fuzor Zoids are essentially a single Zoid created through the combination of multiple individual Zoids. The power output of a Fuzor is substantially higher than the combined output of the individual component Zoids, giving the Fuzor a substantial advantage in battle. Despite the power advantage, Fuzors can only remain combined for a short period, beyond which the Zoid disassembles and shuts down. Further, creating a Fuzor Zoid requires specific partner Zoids. Even among Zoids of the same class, some may be suitable Fuzor partners, while others may not be able to fuse. Plot The main character of the series is a boy named RD. RD works for the team Mach Strom as a Zoid Pilot (also know as "Zi Fighters" in the context of arena battles). Mach Storm earn their living by hiring out their pilots to perform odd jobs in and around the city, including battling, transporting cargo and hunting Wild Zoids. The series is largely episodic in nature, with Mach Strom dealing with different problems as the series progresses. Initially, these are relatively minor challenges, such as defeating their opponents in organised Zoid battles. As the series progresses however, Mach Storm, and the rest of the cast, eventually find themselves embroiled in the plot of Alpha Richter, who attempts to seize control of Blue City in a militristic uprising. Characters :For detailed information, see each character's respective pages on the table provided below Other :The following is a list of characters who as of yet do not have a page Haldo : A longtime friend of Helmut's and a former member of the Mach Storm team, Haldo is now a transport pilot who hauls goods in his Gustav. He still supports the team by offering them work, and has helped them out on several occasions. He provided Sigma with his Leostriker, and later helped smuggle the team out of the city after being imprisoned by Alpha. He has piloted several Gustavs in his lifetime and has the control stick of each of them in a display case. : Voiced by: Hiroshi Ito (Japanese) Rattle and Malloy Dralles : A pair of rich, young men who fight in the Zi-Fighter tournament as the Dark Assassins Team (Dralles team in the Japanese version). Rattle pilots a Killer Dome, while Malloy pilots a Dark Spiner, and the two Zoids are capable of fusing to form the Killer Spiner. The pair of them are somewhat overconfident in their abilities, seeing their Fuzor as being invincible. : The Killer Spiner was in the path of Keith's rampage, along with two Blade Ligers (that possibly belonged to the Black Impact team) and Sigma's Boldguard. The brothers can be seen later on in the series, and a Dark Spiner that may or may not have been theirs appears in a few scenes. : Rattle: : Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii (Japanese),Matt Hill (English) : Malloy: : Voiced by: Takayuki Yamaguchi (Japanese), Samuel Vincent (English) Samantha and Bourne : A pair of pilots who were the leaders of the Dark Forces, a bandit group who operated in the deserts outside of Blue City. They piloted a Brachiozilla(Brachio Rex) and Missile Tortoise, which had the rather unexpected ability to fuse into the Brachio Tortoise. The group attacked the Mach Storm team in order to steal a cargo that Haldo was transporting. Keith : A former Zi-Fighter and Amy's former lover, Keith (Kidd in the Japanese version) was soundly beaten in a championship battle and left the league. He returned with a Holotech Zaber Fang, an unusual Zoid that had the ability to turn invisible and conceal itself from sensory detection. Using the Zoid, he went on a rampage, attacking other Zi-Fighters. He was able to destroy many Zoids including two Blade Ligers, the Dark Assassins' Killer Spiner, and Sigma's Boldguard before finally being stopped by Sigma's new Leostriker. : Voiced by: Syunsuke Sakuya (Japanese) Jean Holiday : A skilled acrobat in a circus, Jean was, in fact, a professional Zoid thief working with a gang in Blue City. He tried to woo Ciao, which didn't help him out when she discovered his true nature. He and his team were taken out by the PKB, with Ciao personally disabling his modified Arosaurer. : Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Matt Hill (English) Rotten Roger, Gilbert the Impaler, Sarah Storm : A trio of Zoid pilots, considered to be three of the best of the league, they piloted a Genosaurer, Red Horn and Raynos respectively. The three of them were entered into the Battle Royale, along with RD and Rastani. Even though the battle was a free-for-all, the four of them teamed up on RD. In they end they were defeated, thanks largely due to Roger deciding to take on the Fuzor all on his own. Though no lines were spoken, all three were present at the final battle against the Seismosaurus. Their names are simply Roger, Gilbert, and Sarah in the Japanese version of the show. : Roger:Voiced by: Trevor Devall (English) Doug : A kid who lived in a small town outside of Blue City, Doug hired Mach Storm for help to protect his community against rampaging wild Zoids. However, amongst the wild Unenlagia was a pair of Zoids that the team hadn't expected, a Dispelow and Evo Flyer that destroyed Doug's Helcat. These same two Zoids later became Blake's Fuzor partners for his Gairyuki (see Blake's entry above) *Doug later replaced the Helcat, and joined Mach Storm in fighting Alpha. : Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Japanese) Zoids Some of the major Zoids that first appeared in Fuzors include: * Buster Eagle * Energy Liger * Fire Phoenix * Gairyuki * Jet Falcon * König Wolf * Laser Storm * Leoblaze * Leostriker * Lord Gale * Scissor Storm * Seismosaurus There is also a large number of Fuzor Zoids that appear throughout the series. Episode List * 1. Knockover on Planet Zi * 2. 1+1=? * 3. Enter the Fire Phoenix * 4. Fuzors Combine! Liger Zero Phoenix * 5. The Kid Called Matt * 6. Ambush in the Wasteland * 7. The Unseen Enemy * 8. Blue Lightning * 9. Good Job Peacekeeping Bureau * 10. Visitor From the Past * 11. Brutal Battle Royal * 12. Matt Battled R.D * 13. Three Teams Face Off * 14. Awakening of the Evil Dragon * 15. Lost Wings * 16. A New Friend * 17. Nightmare in the Sky * 18. Glory for the Man * 19. Showdown at High Noon * 20. Evolution * 21. The Water's Surface & The Under Current * 22. Rampage of the God of Destruction * 23. The End of Mach Storm * 24. The Legendary Zoid * 25. Showdown * 26. Blue Skys Over Planet Zi Broadcast The series was first aired in the US, it was cancelled at episode 13. No repeats were shown, and no episodes saw DVD or VHS release. In Japan, the series aired on Sundays at 8:30AM on TV Tokyo from October 3, 2004 to April 3, 2005, replacing Sonic X in its timeslot. It was replaced by Zoids: Genesis. In Australia, the series was aired in full. Fuzors saw release on pay TV (Cartoon Network). A single episode was aired weekly on the free-to-air channel 10, as part of "The Big Cheez". No re-runs were aired in the free-to-air broadcast. Magna pacific released Fuzors on DVD in Region 4 PAL format. The numbering continued on from Magna's previous Zoids releases. (Fuzors Volume one was numbered 3.1, with New Century Volume one being 2.1 and Chaotic Century being 1.1) Animation Models The computer animation for Fuzors was handled by a new studio, Tokyo Kids. The new studio produced a different visual style compared to the previous Zoids anime series, as the shading of the models, and their run cycles, were notably different to the earlier series. A large proportion of the background objects and scenery were created from 3D models, with some large-scale scenes rendered entirely in 3D. While the series featured Zoids from the earlier anime series, several of them were altered. Some examples include: * The Blade Liger received an entirely new animation model, one that was more accurate to the TOMY model kit. * The Zaber Fang's model was altered to include the numerous small cannons that had been omitted in the previous series. * All the Dark Horns seen sported dual Gattlings and two horns, similiar to McMann's custom variant from Chaotic Century. * All the Red Horns featured had Dark horn-style glowing green canopies and powerplants. * All the Iron Kongs seen in the show featured Gattling cannons on their shoulders in place of their usual weapons; this version was first seen in Zoids: Chaotic Century. * All the Gun Snipers seen were "Leena Special" variants, first seen in Zoids: New Century * The upper pincer of the Lord Gale's claw is longer than the bottom. On the model, they are of equal length. Japanese Edit Like the previous series, there is a significant difference between the Japanese and American versions. However, where the American versions of the first three series had material removed from them, the Japanese version of Fuzors had new material added to it. The animators took advantage of the year's difference between the American and Japanese releases to alter some elements of the show. Most of the first thirteen episodes feature differences in footage, usually minor changes through the addition of extra visual effects during fusion sequences. The most notable exception is episode 2, where they scrapped the original version and made a completely new one which was almost entirely different from its American counterpart. In the Japaense release, the Killer Spiner had two combination sequences, a new sequence seen in episode 2, and the American one in episode 7. In the Japanese release, the Liger Zero's attack is called Strike Laser Claw, rather than "Laser Claw Strike Attack" used in the English version. During the TV broadcast, a short program called "Zoids Roots" followed Fuzors. This show briefly described some of the history of Zoids. There were 13 episodes of this following each Fuzors episode. Trivia *The opening animation from the American version of Fuzors from episode 20 onwards depicts a sequence of the Energy Liger running alongside the Liger Zero Falcon, its energy charger connecting to the Falcon’s body. This scene never occurred in either the U.S. or Japanese versions of Fuzors. *Fuzors is the only Zoids show not to feature in any of the Super Robot Wars games. *The term "Fuzor" originated in Hasbro's Transformers: Beast Wars toyline, where it referred to characters whose animal forms were comprised of two animals blended together. Hasbro re-used "Fuzor" for Zoids years after the last Fuzors in the Beast Wars line were released. Theme songs Opening * "Enemy of Life" by 2Am (The karaoke version was the ending of the American version.) Ending * "Self-Control 2004" by 2Am External links * TV Tokyo Zoids: Fuzors Page (Japanese Category:Anime